“No.” I smiled at the last customer as Claire approached the counter. “I can handle this. Her.”

I felt stronger now than I had before. Freer since I’d given myself permission to call off the wedding. And yes, since Rowan and I became a thing. He made me feel powerful. Made me see the power that was already inside of me.

It was uncanny how much this woman reminded me of my mother. Not in appearance… Claire wore her hair short and cropped, whereas my mother kept hers longer, past her shoulders. Claire was petite and half-starved, and my mother was where I got my curves from. But both of them were drenched in Estée Lauder makeup, Botoxed to high heaven, and walking in a cloud of Chanel No.5.

Both of them had perfected the way to look at someone to communicate just how lacking they found them without actually being able to move any of their facial muscles.

Tina had been muttering insults to the coffee machine as the woman approached, but she stopped once she was within eyesight.

Tina turned, putting her hand on her hip and observed my almost mother-in-law with open disdain and hostility.

It delighted me to see her pinched face tighten in something resembling fear. Tina was not impressed or afraid of the power she wielded in this town.

“Claire,” I greeted her, smiling tightly but not warmly. “What can I get you today?”

“I’m not here for any of… this,” Claire gestured to the glass case full of sweets with thinly veiled disgust. Which made sense since I had not seen the woman eat more than a few bites of salad or chicken since I’d known her.

“I’m here to tell you to get my son back in town.” She turned her attention to me.

I frowned at the woman. “Nathan and I are no longer engaged, as you are well aware. I have no control over what he does or doesn’t do.”

Claire clutched her purse tighter. “I know for certain that he was at your home the night he just left without notice. I know his leaving had something to do with you. You’ve always had a power over him I could never understand.” Her sharp gaze ran over my body, communicating she found me sorely lacking.

Or more likely, she found that there was too much of me, since her standards of beauty came from the era where women had to practically be anorexic in order to seem desirable.

Though, unfortunately, that era had not left us completely.

I internally sighed, laying my palms flat on the counter. “I have customers,” I informed her, glancing at the small line behind her. “If you’re not going to order something, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to step to the side.”

Claire may as well have sucked on a lemon. “I’ll have a coffee. Black.”

“Get that, Tina?” I asked.

“Got it,” Tina replied, her gaze fixed on Claire long enough to make the woman shift in her sensible, designer heels.